Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the Brazilian version of the Down Syndrome Speech Intelligibility Survey.
Julyane Feitoza Coêlho, Gustavo Lopez Estivalet, Francisco Tiago Meireles da Silva and 3 others
PMID 40172375WHAT IT FOUND
The Down Syndrome Speech Intelligibility Survey was translated and adapted into Brazilian Portuguese.
Expert judges rated it highly relevant. Parents in the pilot study struggled with technical terms and the frequency scale, leading to clarifications and examples being added to the final version.
Key findings
01Expert judges rated 97.77% of items as very relevant, viable, and appropriate, with content validity indices of 0.97 for relevance and viability and 0.82 for appropriateness.
02Parents in the pilot study reported difficulty understanding technical terms like 'speech apraxia' and 'facial muscle strength', and some suggested changing the response scale from frequency ratings to yes/no options.
03The study produced a final Brazilian Portuguese version of the instrument after adding examples and clarifying age definitions, but it has not yet undergone full validation for reliability or diagnostic accuracy.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The pilot study included only 14 parents, which is fewer than the 30-40 recommended for final adaptation stages. The instrument has not yet undergone validation for reliability or diagnostic accuracy; only content validity was assessed. Convenience sampling was used, with participants recruited from a single university clinic and nonprofit organization.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the Paraíba State Research Support Foundation (FAPESQ). No other conflicts of interest are declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not use this instrument as a diagnostic tool for childhood apraxia of speech. The study only confirms the translation and content validity; it does not prove the questionnaire accurately diagnoses the condition or distinguishes it from other speech disorders in Down syndrome.